Whatever it is concerns a complaint that someone made In September 2011 in Lake Placid. Police aren't releasing details. There is a brief article in the Washington Post. Apparently he is being held in Howard County.

There was a small feature on this developing story in the Washington, DC local NBC morning news show. Sretensky was arrested in the DC area (Maryland) last night based on an alleged incident in Lake Placid "last year in Sept" (no specific date or event cited...there was a JrGP in Lake Placid in Sept 2009 but 2011???). According to his lawyer, Renne Sandler, interviewed exclusively by the NBC4 station:

"There is a forcible-touching charge, a 1st-degree sexual asault charge and a 3rd-degree sexual assault charge...all of which we will fight..."

Sretensky's wife Yulia was also interviewed, adamantly denying the charges. I DVD'ed the 1-minute piece but don't know how to upload it, sorry.

Both 1st and 3rd-degree sexual assault charges are felonies (not misdemeanors) in most jurisdictions.

No update yet on Sretenski's Wikipedia entry. As everyone on FSU likely knows, he and partner Natalia Annenko were 4th-place finishers in Calgary '88, won Skate Canada twice and were 3rd at '89 Euros before retiring from amateur skating. More importantly, they were exquisite pro skaters with Stars on Ice for 4 seasons. They won the World Pro/Landover at least once, if memory serves...Dec '92, beating TWO Olympic-champion couples, Klimova/Ponomarenko and Besti/Bukin! Simply magnificent skaters. As coaches in the Gardens FSC in Maryland, the Sretenskis used to coach current USFSA Jr National Ice Dance silver medalist Travis Mager before he moved to the Linichuk/Karponosov camp in Delaware (Bonacorsi/Mager team dissolved this April): http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=39421&mode=P

Unfortunately, there are many twists and turns to this story, and the veracity, sexual activity with others and mental health status of the accuser will certainly be a very large issues. Sretenski has been coaching for years, and not one other student has come forward with allegations, to the contrary everyone including past and present students are providing and have been providing for the past year, their good wishes and support to him, which signals that this accuser has other motivations. The accuser will not be unscathed in all of this, and I am sure as in most cases, she does not realize what she has done to herself.

"The accuser" is never unscathed in any sexual abuse/exploitation scandal; even when "the accuser" is the one telling the truth. It's obvious who's side you are on in the matter, but since it has just barely been made public what the charges even are, perhaps everyone not involved (i.e., everyone on this board passing judgements) should await further information before making up their minds on guilt and innocence in the situation; not that it's even our business.

There are some clear facts here that the public should know, none of his past or current students have made allegations against him and truly support him and have been supporting him since the accuser came forward last year, with the exception of his accuser, who has her own issues to worry about that will be revealed in time.

There are some clear facts here that the public should know, none of his past or current students have made allegations against him and truly support him and have been supporting him since the accuser came forward last year, with the exception of his accuser, who has her own issues to worry about that will be revealed in time.

Click to expand...

More clear facts, 5 of your 12 posts have been about Sretenski. It is obvious you have a vested interest in what is said and/or posted about him.

You coming on this board and questioning the "veracity, sexual activity and mental health" of the accuser isn't going to make Sretenski look any better in this case. On the contrary, it does the exact opposite. Let this play out in the courts and the truth will eventually come out.

There was a small feature on this developing story in the Washington, DC local NBC morning news show. Sretensky was arrested in the DC area (Maryland) last night based on an alleged incident in Lake Placid "last year in Sept" (no specific date or event cited...there was a JrGP in Lake Placid in Sept 2009 but 2011???). According to his lawyer, Renne Sandler, interviewed exclusively by the NBC4 station:

Click to expand...

You are correct, there was not a JGP event in Lake Placid in 2011.

iceymom said:

There are some clear facts here that the public should know, none of his past or current students have made allegations against him and truly support him and have been supporting him since the accuser came forward last year, with the exception of his accuser, who has her own issues to worry about that will be revealed in time.

Click to expand...

As someone who was the victim of a predator, I can assure you that just because "others" think a predator is a swell person doesn't mean it is so.

As someone who was the victim of a predator, I can assure you that just because "others" think the predator is a swell person doesn't mean it is so.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I have no idea what happened, who is innocent, who is guilty, what is true and what is not. But someone coming here obviously biased and trying to convince people of "the truth" in the situation, is not going to influence me in his favor.

Facts are fact, no matter how hard you try to under play them. His current and past students have not raised allegations. Usually in these cases one accuser if followed by more-not the case here. The accuser is known to many.
And yes, the truth will come out.

Facts are fact, no matter how hard you try to under play them. His current and past students have not raised allegations. Usually in these cases one accuser if followed by more-not the case here. The accuser is known to many.
And yes, the truth will come out.

Click to expand...

Then why don't you wait until it does, and lay off the insinuations in the meantime.

Facts are fact, no matter how hard you try to under play them. His current and past students have not raised allegations. Usually in these cases one accuser if followed by more-not the case here. The accuser is known to many.
And yes, the truth will come out.

Click to expand...

As far as most of us are concerned, there are no available facts at all. We're not insiders and there's nothing for us to even have an opinion about.

Except your posts. And you aren't making people sympathetic to your point of view.

In fairness to all involved, there's really nothing to be said at this time about this. There simply isn't any public information.

Insight based upon those who have knowledge not known to many, and are not outsiders like many of you on this sight are not appreciated, so no more insight into the reality shall be provided.
Thousands of worthless statements based upon opinion and speculation are valued over those who actually know what is going on. Sad but true.

I was sadly mistaken that the skating community would want to know positive insight into a very sad situation.

.... The accuser ... she does not realize what she has done to herself.

Click to expand...

Who ever said that the accuser is a female? None of the in-print articles say so. If true, its a horrible crime that can be committed against a person of either sex. For now: innocent until proven guilty.

My problem is not with your "facts" but with the conclusions you draw from them. You seem to be saying that he is proven innocent because he only has one accuser. Nonsense! You also seem to be saying that his accuser is a proven liar because she has personal issues know to many. Again, nonsense IMHO. If you honestly believe that preditors don't pick on the vulnerable, then I
don't know what to say, but even if what you are saying is fact (there's only one accuser and she has personal problems), none of that proves anything other than there is currently only one accuser and the accuser has issues. Absolutely nothing you are saying proves guilt or innocense of either party. You're just spreading nasty gossip, like a typical "skating mom".

I was sadly mistaken that the skating community would want to know positive insight into a very sad situation.

Click to expand...

Maybe if you phrased this as 'allow me to assure you of the following as *XY credential* (i.e., other coach at the rink, skating mom who worked with the coaches, etc)', we'd have been more receptive. Your first post started questioning "The Accuser" and her issues, without providing any real insight into the situation --besides your own bias. Posters responded accordingly.

Skepticism shouldn't come as a shock, especially given how new you are to the board, or how you chose to broach the subject

Fine, have you been with him 24/7 for the last few years? The fact is that you have no chance of being 100% certain that he didn't do it, unless you have spent every minute in his company. All you are saying is your opinion, but that doesn't make it fact.

We are not saying that he IS guilty, I do agree with 'innocent until proven guilty'; we are saying that we don't know at this moment and whatever you are saying is not going to influence me either way. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't.

No, it is hearsay because we have no facts. It may be a fact to you, but to everyone on this forum it is hearsay.

If the 'facts' are going to prove him to be innocent, then you should back off and let the facts speak for themselves, because quite frankly all you are doing is making him look like a guilty weasel by the way you are posting.

Anything you report that other people said and did is hearsay if you didn't witness them saying/doing it. By definition.

Since you couldn't possibly have talked to every single one of Sretenski's past and current students, then saying that none of them have done this and all of them believe that is, by definition, hearsay.